The A-Listers Who Consoled Chris Rock After He Was Attacked By Will Smith

Social media is still abuzz after the "slap heard 'round the world" at the 94th annual Oscars ceremony, and people are highly divided about the incident. The fallout from that event will probably continue for some time to come.

In case you somehow missed it, an incident at the 2022 ceremony will go down in history as one of the most shocking controversies in Oscars history — for a year that was already shrouded in controversy. After Chris Rock made a joke about Jada Pinkett Smith, who had recently shaved her head following an alopecia diagnosis, Will Smith strode up to the comic and smacked him across the face. When he returned to his seat, Smith yelled to Rock, "Keep my wife's name out of your f****** mouth." It shocked everyone watching, from celebrities, to folks at home, to Academy members, and put a damper on the whole evening, especially overshadowing Questlove's Best Documentary win for "Summer of Soul," which Rock was there to present, as well as Smith's Best Actor win a few moments later.

Now there's question as to how the Academy will respond. They are considering removing Smith's membership for a year, per The Hollywood Reporter, or possibly even taking back Smith's statuette, though that seems unlikely. Regardless of how the Academy reacts, the general public remains torn, with many saying Smith was wrong and others saying Rock deserved it. Many feel they were both wrong. But Rock also has plenty of A-Listers standing by his side.

Comics are often known for pushing boundaries and walking thin lines between humor and ridicule, though hopefully they don't always "punch down." Among Chris Rock's supporters after the incident were some comics who perhaps understand more the difficulty of their job. Among them was Oscars co-host Wanda Sykes, who, with Rock, also attended the afterparty thrown by music manager Guy Oseary, while Will Smith went to the Vanity Fair afterparty. "Wanda Sykes was [Rock's] wingman for the night," a source told Page Six. "He was sitting at Guy's dining table, and people lined up to console him and offer support."

Also supporting Rock were actors Woody Harrelson, Robert DeNiro, and Sacha Baron Cohen — and Cohen has certainly seen his share of controversy. Cohen "told [Rock] that what happened was completely wrong," per the source, and also reminded folks of insult comedians like Ricky Gervais. "Comics at the Oscars are expected to poke fun at the guests — that's what happens. What about Ricky Gervais at the Golden Globes — he skewered the entire room, he could have been punched by dozens of people — but that didn't happen."

Oseary also posted a photo on his Instagram with Rock, DeNiro, Harrelson, and Oseary's brother, and many commenters supported Rock with the hashtag #TeamChrisRock. Other celebrities also made appearances at the party, including Taylor Swift, Leonardo DiCaprio, Billie Eilish, Andrew Garfield, and one of Sykes's two co-hosts, Amy Schumer — though whether that was tacit support for Rock is hard to say.